Last night we found a tremendous World War 2 movie called "The Purple Heart"(1944), about a US Army Air Corps bomber crew who are forced to bail out over China, then are captured by the Japanese occupiers and put on trial for trumped up war crimes. The story is based on the Doolittle Raid over Tokyo in 1942 (see Jimmy Doolittle), where some downed airmen were subject to a Japanese kangaroo court. In the movie, Dana Andrews plays "Captain Harvey Ross", who - in the opening scene - makes the decision to ditch the B-25 he's piloting, after it loses power in a storm. Although the crew parachute safely to the ground, they are picked up by a Chinese civil servant who turns out to be a spy for Japan. We next see the men in court, where reporters from countries sympathetic to the Axis cause are being welcomed, to provide biased coverage in favor of the prosecution. The Japanese judge is a religious figure or a warlord of some type, dressed in ceremonial robe with a long beard. He appears to have more power than the military generals on the panel. One airman, "Lt. Greenbaum" (Sam Levene) is a lawyer in civilian life. He demands counsel for the Americans. "You have to allow us a defense! It's part of the Geneva Convention". "Ahh, but Japan did not sign that", says the Judge. "However, we will provide what you ask". They are given a public defender who does basically nothing.
During a recess, a general (Richard Loo) is called before the Judge, who demands to know how the American air raid got through to Yokohama. "What happened to the early warning system"? "I think, Honorable Magistrate, that they launched from an aircraft carrier. That is why no one saw them coming". General Loo is then put on the spot by the judge, who orders him to prove his theory. If he can't show how the raid originated at sea, it'll be off with his head. This begins the movie's long second act, where the General, smiling all the while in a caricature of Japanese inscrutability, orders each prisoner to a secret room, one at a time, where they are tortured into revealing the raid's origin. None of them will talk, so the tortures become more and more brutal. The men cope in different ways. Some pray, one (Richard Conte) recites Shakespeare. When one prisoner, young "Sgt. Clinton" (Farley Granger) is choked into unconsciousness during his interrogation, the men know that the General has raised the stakes to life or death.
A Swiss official, attending the trail as an advocate, tells the judge that if the Americans are killed, the US will retaliate. "Remember, there are 100,000 Japanese interned in camps". Then the judge makes an offer. "Okay, we will let them go free - if they give us the names of their superior officers, and where their base is located". Knowing his men will be executed if found guilty (and they will be, because it's a show trial), Ross gives them the option to talk if they wish. General Loo advises they do so. His neck is on the line, too. A vote is taken in their communal cell. Each man votes "no". They're willing to die for their country. I won't say how it turns out. The movie is based on an actual prisoner-of-war trail in Japan that made headlines in American papers. Dana Andrews, as Captain Ross, gives a bitter, rousing but prophetic speech at the end that would curdle the blood of today's audiences, and would likely not be included in a modern picture. It must be remembered, however, that in the context of the times, people were very angry, about Pearl Harbor and verified Japanese war crimes. That's why you hear the three letter slur, used to refer to Japanese people, used in some movies of the era.
Taken as a war movie - and war is not PC - "The Purple Heart" is harrowing but honest. It's not an easy watch, but I give it Two Huge Thumbs Up. The all-star cast is stellar and the picture is razor sharp. ////
The previous night we watched an excellent B-grade crime film, "Bullet Scars"(1942), about a bank job gone bad. Prototypical tough guy Howard Da Silva and his gang have just shot it out with the security guard. His buddy "Joe" (Tod Andrews) is badly wounded and needs a doctor, pronto. They can't take him to the hospital, so they find an old physician in the suburbs and force him to operate. When he tries to sneak off and call the cops, Da Silva shoots him dead. Now they need another doctor, fast, or Joe is gonna die. One of the gang knows a nurse named "Nora" (Adele Longmire), who happens to be Joe's sister. She knows an MD named "Stephen Bishop" (Regis Toomey) who's practice is up in the mountains. Da Silva and his gang relocate there, and hold Bishop hostage while pretending to be "legit businessmen". At first, Da Silva tries a cover story, giving Bishop a spiel about being a hunter who accidentally shot his friend. Holy Shades of Dick Cheney, Batman! Da Silva doesn't want the doctor getting scared, because Joe needs brain surgery, which is gonna be difficult enough without a hospital and a full operating room staff. So he tries playing the Accidental Hunter, and promises to buy Dr. Bishop a whole new laboratory if the operation is successful.
And if it isn't?
Well, don't tell Dr. Bishop, but Da Silva's gonna kill him if that happens. Nurse Nora knows the truth, that Da Silva and his chums are bank robbers, but she keeps quiet because she knows they'll kill her too. Being Joe's sister only counts for so much. So to recap, Dr. Bishop is under the false impression that Howard Da Silva is a well-to-do hunter who shot his friend Joe by accident. The guys with him (who look and talk like hoodlums) are just part of the hunting party. One, "Pills Davis" (Ben Weldon), is a total nitwit who's along for comic relief. All he thinks about is swallowing as many vitamins as he can get his hands on. Da Silva explains his need for secrecy to Dr. Bishop thusly : "It would be bad for my business reputation if the accident got out to the press. You know how it is with newspaper reporters, doc". Fortunately for Joe, and Dr. Bishop too, the operation is a success. But Joe is facing a long recovery. Bishop has to go into town for medical supplies, and he can't understand why Da Silva doesn't trust him. "What's the problem? Don't you want your friend to get well"? It's not that, it's just ...well, what if Bishop knows more than he's letting on? Or what if he hears a radio report about bank robbers on the loose in the area? Then the gig will be up for sure, and the operation on Joe will have been for nothing.
One thing you've gotta give Howard Da Silva, he's the most loyal gang boss in bank robber history. Most would have just let Joe die. Not only won't Da Silva do that, but he's willing to wait while Joe recuperates, which may take a very long time. I'm not gonna tell you how the waiting period plays out, but because it's a crime film from the 40s, you can assume the law is gonna catch up with the gang at some point. When that happens, get ready for one of the biggest shootouts in Hollywood history. We're talking "Wild Bunch" level, full-on, all out. Guns blaze by the dozen from every direction. "Bonnie & Clyde" has nothing on this movie. My goodness, the budget for bullets must've equaled the rest of the production. The shootout alone is worth the price of admission (which is free, btw), but all kidding aside, this is a different take on the "holed up in the mountains" hostage story, a theme we saw in "Storm Fear" with Cornel Wilde, and "A Strange Adventure", directed by William Witney. "Bullet Scars" is the only one where the criminals pull a ruse, to put the hostage at ease. It's very well acted by Da Silva and Toomey. Ben Weldon is funny as the knucklehead health nut "Pills", but might get on your nerves here and there. Two Big Thumbs Up for "Bullet Scars". The picture is watchable, but I'm calling for a Criterion restoration, for the shootout scene alone. It's very highly recommended! ////
Well, did you get enough rain? That was pretty crazy, glad it's finally stopped. We'll wrap up the year in movies tomorrow, with one last blog for 2021. I wish you a nice evening and I send you Tons of Love, as always. xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo :):)
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